Things I am LOVING right now

There are a few things in my life right now that I just cannot get enough of. You know how sometimes things come along (great pair of jeans, a book you just can't put down, a painting that makes you feel things you didn't know were possible). Well I have a few things in my life right now that I am just absolutely loving. They are things in my life that I can't get enough of and each thing makes me feel something really great. So I wanted to share them with you!!

The couches that inhabit our basement at the moment are a weird slate blue/grey color. The pillows that have been on there for decades (Scott picked them out years ago) were so lumpy they made your mom's thanksgiving gravy look good. I still have a kink in my neck from laying on them. I decided that it was time to invest in some new pillows, but knew it could be a challenge to find pillows that matched the couches (I didn't want to have to resort to black pillows). So a co-worker (thanks Denise!) suggested that I try a store called Home Goods for my nesting needs. Low and behold, I found this beauty of a pillow. I LOVED the geometric designs and the yellow, green and blue colors. A perfect pillow that will be the inspiration for the colors in our new basement (see earlier posts). I purchased two of them and they now perch perfectly on one of our couches.



On a recent excursion to Menards (yes folks, I shop at Menards) I was stopped dead in my tracks when I saw shelving that held these little beauties. There were all sorts of colors and shapes and I was mesmerized by them all!! Not to mention, they were .74 cents a piece!! As I do with everything I love, I buy the item in multiples. I bought a light and dark blue vase, a cream vase, and a yellow, green and red vase. Everytime I look at these little vases my heart swells with joy. They don't even need to be filled with flowers. In fact, I think it might actually take away from what this little vase is offering me, and that is pure joy.

Other things I am loving right now are:

• AVOSkinjuice Quenchers - This is a lotion that I tried in the bathroom of a salon and loved it so much I had to buy it immediately (I know, I know, the whole impulse shopping thing) But hey, it's winter and my hands are continuously dry. And this lotion is the perfect match for my dry hands, plus it smells amazing!! I bought the Crisp Apple Juice scent. Lucious!

• Dave Ramsey - He came to speak at Willow this weekend...and I'm telling you, this man has a gift! He is a financial guru and is a man of God and has a passion for getting people out of debt. You can't read his book, hear him on the radio, or watch him speak and not feel inspired to make a change in your financial habits.

• Being Married - ok, so it's not just that I am loving being married RIGHT NOW. I have always loved being married. But after being married for a year, I feel an even stronger connection with my husband and am SO excited to see what God has planned for us this year. I think there are some big things on the horizon for us personally, professionaly, and in our walks with God. Bring it on!!

• Remodeling our basement - it's just plain amazing being married to someone who is so handy around the house. Scott has a natural gift for architecture, construction and creating something out of nothing. He doesn't think he's creative, but he's a true artist. I am so proud of him and am constantly in awe of his abilities to remodel. Our basement will truly be built with love.

• Kelly Rae Roberts -Kelly is an artist who I found out about last month when I was in Colorado. I purchased a piece of her artwork and instantly fell in love with her art, her creative mind and her spirit. I can't get enough of her! I'm still trying to find the perfect place for the print I bought. I want it to be in a place where I will see it every day. She has a blog and a website so check her out here. I also just bought her book called Taking Flight which is about inspiring people to be creative and letting that creativity out. I can't wait to read it!

• Being in Grad School - Going back to school was one of the toughest decisions for me to make personally and has been one of the hardest things I've ever done. But I am so proud of myself for committing fully to the process (even though it's a long one!) and being diligent and disciplined in my work. I know that in the end it will pay off, no matter how many late nights I have working on a paper. Although there are times that I have doubts about whether or not I will be a good therapist in the future, I know that I am still learning and that God has given me a passion to do therapy and help families.

Spare Bedroom progress

Scott pretty much built this bedroom in his 2 days off this week. Amazing!! I'm so proud of him. :)
Here is a picture inside the bedroom. This is a shot of the closet.


This is also inside the bedroom, looking at the door. This wall and closet did not exist before!


Door to the bedroom from the outside of the room.

Time for a change

Because we spend so much time in the basement, we figured we should make some major changes to make it more comfortable and to our liking. We have such a great space down there and we were only using half of it. So as posted earlier, Scott is putting in another bedroom and we will be laying new carpet in the next few weeks. As you can see in the first picture, we have a BLACK wall and NOTHING on the other walls. Major work needs to be done.

I'm learning about what it means to create spaces in our home that make us feel things (soothed, comforted, happy, energized, relaxed, creative, etc). I used to be so concerned about buying things for our home that matched or flowed with the rest of the house. I'm learning that if I see something that moves me or makes me feel a strong emotion, that I should buy it, even if I'm not sure where it'll go or whether or not it'll match the rest of the house! So I basically have a blank slate with the basement. There is so much we can do down there and I'm excited to see how it turns out. I'll keep you posted!

Keeping us warm

Here is our woodburning stove that we love using in the winter. It used to be propped up on a brick slab with a big wooden box-like thing behind it to hold wood. Scott tore all of that out and laid this beautiful slate down underneath and behind it. Once we finish the basement this will look amazing down there.

Remodeling!

Scott has been busy doing some remodeling in our basement! I wanted to post a few pictures of the different projects he's been working on. I'm continually amazed at his abilities to build and re-model. He's handy to have around! :) These pictures are of Scott putting up a wall to close in the bedroom area. He is also putting in a closet. It's going to be a great spare bedroom. Scott also remodeled our woodburning stove area and put up slate. It looks amazing.


This pictures shows the 2x4s Scott put up to start with. He's standing in what will be the door way.




I can't wait to get rid of that ugly wolf poster that's been there forever! Sorry Scott :)

Jeremiah

Sarah, Jeremiah and little Abraham came to visit this weekend and J had a blast with the dogs and Uncle Scott!

Wile Coyote!

These are Precious and Sydney's new play dates :) We've had a few coyote sightings in our backyard. Yikes!!

One Year of Marriage

Scott and I celebrated our one-year anniversary by going out to eat at our favorite restaurant in Chicago, La Hacienda. We figured we should keep with the Mexican theme of our wedding, and going to La Hacienda gave us a great excuse to visit the city.






This is the machine they make the tortillas in. They come out warm and fresh!


Preparing to feast on fajitas....yum!





Desert....Sopapillas!

Movies

American Idol starts in 4 days!! I can't wait!

Scott and I rented Ghost Town with Greg Kinnear, Ricky Gervais and Tea Leoni. It was a funny, quirky romantic comedy (ie. chick flick!). It was one of the better movies I've seen in a long time.

We saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button over Christmas and it was TERRIBLE! I'm sure it's going to get all sorts awards this season, but it didn't cause me to feel any emotion except for boredom and annoyance. It could have been SUCH a great movie. It had so much potential, but at over 2.5 hours, I was more focused on how sore my butt was than how Button was aging backwards. I wanted the movie to touch and move me like The Notebook (it kind of has that feel), but it didn't even come close. It was boring and the plot moved along slower than a snail. If you really want to see it, wait until it comes out on video!!

Christmas Tree